New Girl From Arcadia
by MrBillyD
Summary: A "Joan of Arcadia"/"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" crossover.  God brings Joan Girardi to Sunnydale, where "Living on the Hellmouth means that you can get away with anything.", and where He has chosen her to be the one who brings "Salvation to the undead."
1. Chapter 1

New Girl From Arcadia:

A "Buffy"/"Joan of Arcadia" crossover.

God brings Joan Girardi to Sunnydale, where "Living on the Hellmouth means that you can get away with almost anything.", and where He has chosen her to be the one who brings "Salvation to the undead."

I do not own any of these characters. They belong to the producers of the TV series "Buffy: the Vampire Slayer", its spin-off series "Angel", and the TV series "Joan of Arcadia".

New Girl From Arcadia:

By MrBillyD

1

By 2:30 PM on Saturday afternoon, the cross-country bus from Los Angeles had been on the road for two and a half hours. We passengers had spent the last 30 minutes riding past patches of wild cactus, along a two-lane asphalt road, through the arid Southern California countryside. Now our trip was almost over. We were approaching Sunnydale.

Everything's just too strange, I, 16 year old Joan Girardi thought, as I sat beside a window on the right side of the vehicle. My mother Helen was seated beside me.

There were heatwave mirage puddles on the road ahead. You never see that, on the roads back in New Jersey, in early February. I was wearing shorts and a halter-top. The air-conditioning had broken down, so I was hot and sweating, in early February.

The bus now reached the outskirts of Sunnydale, driving past a "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign. The local Doublemeat Palace franchise stood on the opposite side of the road.

That sign, I thought, should say "Welcome to Vampire Town". That is this town's claim to fame.

The bus continued on its way, and we were soon moving along Sunnydale's Main Street, passing the Sun Cinema, and a nightclub called the Bronze, among many small shops. A short distance further, along the next block, we passed a small shop with a sign above the door identifying the establishment as the "Magic Box."

This town, I thought, looks just the same as the other small Southern California towns we've just driven through. Without the tropical foliage, it would look like any small town, anywhere in the Country. The people moving along the sidewalks outside the shops look and dress no different from people you'd see in any other town, or city.

I wondered, how do the "Not entirely human" residents I've heard of; the ones "who go bump in night" look, and if they really are as bad as all the stories you hear? What's even more important is how do we deal with them?

I don't want to have to deal with them! I raged silently. I don't want to have to deal with any of this! But what I do or don't want doesn't matter. I'd prayed about it. I'd asked God to keep us in Arcadia, so I could stay with my boyfriend Adam, but now we were here, and I may never see Adam again.

God's ignoring me, I thought. I haven't had an encounter with Him in about a month.

About a month earlier back in Arcadia, during the first week in January, a few hours after classes were dismissed, I'd been at home, seated at the desk in my room, using my lap top computer to check out what was on the Arcadia High student's website. I'd logged on to a page titled "No Longer a Virgin." I scanned down the page, seeing the names and photos of a very large majority of my classmates.

Virgins, I thought, are becoming a quickly diminishing minority in the Junior Class of Arcadia High. Should I add my name to this list? I am finally qualified. Adam and I have fkd a few times, and we've both enjoyed it.

"Well it's about time Girardi." Grace Polk had told me, earlier that day. "Why not add your name to the list, and make it official?"

"I don't know." I spoke with uneasiness. "Some of the kids on that web page are describing all the dirty details. I'd feel very uncomfortable if I did that, and so would Adam."

"I don't know about that." Grace told me, "He's already added his name, and he wrote, 'Joan Girardi has a great cnt', and it's all mine'."

"Oh?" I forced a smile, "I suppose that _is_ a compliment, even if it's the dirty kind, and I'm glad to know he feels that way; but I'd still feel uncomfortable if I wrote anything about his dk."

"No descriptions are necessary. All you've got to write is 'I am now a woman who fks'. That's what I did. "

Okay. I thought, as I sat by my home computer. I'll identify myself as another one, among the rapidly increasing number of officially fkd Arcadia High's Junior Class girls, but without any dirty details. I'll keep Adam's private parts all to myself.

"Joan!" My mother's voice came through the door. "It's time to eat!"

"Be right there Mom!"

I returned my attention to the web page, and added "Joan Girardi" to the list. Then I wrote the words, "I am now a woman who fks." I did not include any descriptions; but I did add a photo of myself with a satisfied smile on my lips.

That's all that's necessary. I thought, and uploaded my entry onto the students' web page.

At the dining room table, my mother and I sat down to a dinner of macaroni with meatballs, sausages and tomato sauce, along with onions and garlic.

Two weeks earlier, my father Will Girardi, who was a detective on the Arcadia Police Force, had been killed in the line of duty. I don't want to say any more about that. Repeating any of the details is just too difficult for me.

My mother worked as an office secretary at Arcadia High School, but without my father's income, things were going to be very difficult for the two of us alone. My mother was looking around for a better paying job. I thought I should be getting one myself, for after school, but she didn't want me doing anything that might interfere with my studies.

This evening, when the meal was finished, she made an announcement.

"Joan. Today I received a phone call from your Aunt Joyce. She's a member of the Sunnydale California School Board. She told me that there is a job opening at the local High School, with a much better salary. She's arranged to have them keep the position open for me, if I want it."

I asked, "There's a job for you in Sunnydale, California? Vampire Town?"

"I asked your Aunt Joyce about all those stories you hear. She says they are greatly exaggerated. The problems they are having are firmly under control. I told her that I'll accept the position."

"You'll accept the position?" I thought of Adam. "We're gonna be moving? To Vampire Town?"

"That's right." She told me, "An agreement has been made, between the live people and the vampires, which will help assure that everyone there, both the living and undead, will be reasonably safe. That will include you and I."

The following morning when I arrived at Arcadia High, I went to my locker, to hang up my overcoat and pick up the books I'd be needing for that morning's classes. I saw a guy who appeared to be around my own age approaching me. The hottest hunk of a guy I'd ever met!

I thought, I'd love to have him fk me, or do anything else he wants to my naked body, any time he wants, any way he wants. No. I shouldn't be thinking that way. I am fking Adam who's actually written, that he likes having my cnt all to himself, so I shouldn't be thinking that way about any other guy.

Fortunately, this Guy isn't what He appears to be. He's God in another one of the forms He takes, when He speaks to me.

He came over and stood beside me, smiled and said, "Good morning Joan."

"Good morning Lord."

He grinned, "I know what you're thinking. Thank you for the compliment."

I looked away from him in embarrassment. Then I whispered, "Do you have to look like such a hunk?"

The Guy beside me asked, "Do you know what you should ask me, when you have those feelings?"

I smiled, still looking away from Him. "Well since you already know what I'm thinking, do I really have to ask?"

"Joan. I said what you _should _ask. Especially now when you've been fucking Adam who you're in love with, for more than a month."

"Oh. 'Have mercy on me a sinner, Lord', and on Adam too."

"Anything else?"

"'Lead us not into temptation'?"

"And what follows that?"

"'But deliver us from evil.'"

That's when I stopped being embarrassed and turned to face Him.

"What's going on?" I asked, "You've got my Mom and me going to Sunnydale, California of all places? 'Vampire Town'? It's supposed to be located on a hell mouth; and it's another Sodom and Gomorrah."

"That is where you will belong."

"Where I will belong? Are you punishing me for fking Adam? Every other girl in this school fks her boyfriend, but you're not sending any of them off to Hell Town!"

"I haven't appeared to any of them in human form, the way I've been appearing to you, and they haven't received what you've received."

"Okay. I understand. 'To whom much is given, much will be required', so my punishment will be more severe than my classmates will receive; but isn't having me killed by a vampire, kind of excessive?"

"That's not the reason you're leaving Arcadia Joan." He told me, "It's about the well being of all the residents of Sunnydale. When I want something done, I choose the most qualified person available."

"But isn't there anyone else with the same qualifications as me, or even better? And what do I say to Adam? 'I'll write you letters in blood'?"

"You are the one who I have chosen, to bring Salvation to undead in Sunnydale."

Then He just walked away from me.

While we remained in Arcadia, I didn't see Him again.


	2. Chapter 2

2

When the bus finally arrived at the Sunnydale Bus Station that Saturday afternoon, both my Aunt Joyce and my Cousin Dawn Summers, were waiting to greet us. As we loaded our bags into their car's trunk, I noticed that my Cousin Dawn, who was my age, had a pair of anti-biotic Band-Aids on her neck.

They drove us away from the Bus Station, going through downtown Sunnydale, to their home in a residential neighborhood, on a street named Robello Drive. It was a two-story house with a neatly trimmed lawn and front porch.

As soon as we arrived, we took our bags up to the rooms where we'd be staying as guests, until we found a place of our own to live.

After my mother and I unpacked, we came back downstairs and sat outside on the porch swing, with my Cousin Dawn and Aunt Joyce. As we were talking and pleasantly reminiscing, my mother spoke to my cousin.

"Tell me Dawn. What happened to your neck?"

The girl looked away from her uneasily.

Aunt Joyce spoke with a smirking tone. "My daughter Dawn has a hickey. She's been getting hickeys regularly for the past few months." She chuckled, "And she actually expects me to believe she's still a virgin."

Dawn scowled with annoyance. "No I don't Mom! I am a normal, healthy 16-year-old girl, who fucks! Most 16 year old girls fuck! I bet Cousin Joan here does, don't you?"

I nodded but said nothing.

Dawn went on, "So why would I want anybody to believe anything else?"

My Aunt Joyce then told me, "Be careful with the boys you'll be fucking here Joan. It's obvious that they can be kind of rough."

Now my mother said, with an equally smirking tone, "Well my daughter Joan was fucking with her boyfriend regularly for the past two months, right up until the night before we left; but he was always considerate enough to never give her a hickey."

I said, "Considerate?"

"Well I liked knowing that my daughter was getting fucked by a gentleman. I hope any the boys who you'll be fucking here, will be just as considerate."

"Mom." I told her, "He wrote on a student's website 'Joan Girardi has a great cnt, and it's all mine'. Just how considerate is that?"

"I agree." Aunt Joyce said, "I've read similar things about both my girls on the local student's website."

Dawn shrugged, "The boys you'll be dating here, are no different than they were back where you were living Joan, whether your dates are alive or undead."

"Undead?" I asked, "You date vampires?"

She nodded, "That's how I got this hicky. Me and Buffy'll talk to you about it later Joan."

The Monday after we'd arrived in Sunnydale, I stood waiting beside the teacher's desk in Classroom 317. This was my first morning as a new student in Sunnydale Senior High School. I'd spent the entire first period in the Office, getting properly enrolled.

I'd been given my class schedule and locker number. Then I'd come straight here, carrying a brand new notebook. I'd moved along with the crowds of students as they changed classes between periods. I noticed that many of the girls wore very short tight skirts, hanging less than half way down their thighs, or very short shorts, revealing the full lengths of their legs. Many of them wore tight, skimpy halter-tops. I also noticed that an unusually large number of girls had Band-Aids on their necks; so did an unusually large number of guys, none of who were wearing revealing garments.

I was dressed in a short sleeved blouse, a skirt that hung to the tops of my knees, and flat-soled shoes. That's how we dressed back in Arcadia; totally out of style, at least here in my new High School. I was definitely going to have to get myself an entire new wardrobe; and go on a little bit of a diet.

As I went past the lockers in the corridors, I noticed that some of the boys were looking me over.

I thought, Good-bye Adam. Hello whoever my Sunnydale boyfriend will be.

Here in classroom 317, like in any classroom anywhere, there were blackboards, with chalk writing, and bulletin boards, where many posters and other paper or cardboard items were tacked. Through the windows, I saw the top floors and rooftops of neighboring buildings. In the distance, I saw the burned out ruins of what had been the High School.

The school I was now in, was located in an old office building that had been renovated to be the community's temporary Secondary School, until the construction of a new High School was completed.

The 11th Grade History teacher had not yet arrived. The desks were about half full of students; most of who had bandaged necks. More were coming through the doorway. Most of them looked at me with curiosity.

Somebody said, "New girl."

My cousin Dawn, was very a shapely girl, with long brown hair. She sat at one of the desks dressed in a short, tight yellow skirt and matching halter, and had a fresh pair of bandages on her neck. She waved at me smiling.

I heard her say, "That's my cousin Joan. They've just moved here to Sunnydale."

She got up from her desk and began to come over to me, when the teacher entered the room. Dawn backed away from me and sat down at her desk again, as did the other students who continued talking.

The teacher was a woman in her early thirties, with a good figure, but wore no revealing garments, and had no hickey or bandage on her neck. She wore a simple dress and sensible shoes. The woman also wore glasses. She came over to the desk carrying a briefcase, while looking at me without smiling.

She asked, "Are you a new student?"

"Yes." I handed her a form I'd been given at the office.

The woman sighed. She seated herself behind the desk and looked over the form.

"Your name is Joan Girardi?"

"Yes. Mrs…?"

"You may call me Ms. Kalderash."

The bell rang. All the students were now in their seats, continuing to talk.

Ms. Kalderash called out, "Class!"

Everyone quieted down.

The teacher went on. "I want to introduce to you a new member of our Class. She is Joan Girardi."

The woman spoke to me. "Please tell us where you are from Joan."

I told them all, "Arcadia, New Jersey."

Ms. Kalderash told them, "I want you to all welcome Joan from Arcadia, New Jersey, to Sunnydale, California High."

The class called out in unison, "Welcome Joan from Arcadia, New Jersey, to Sunnydale, California High!" Then they all laughed. I grinned nervously.

The teacher told me, "I'm sure your classmates will do their best, to make you feel welcomed. You may take a seat Joan."

Dawn pointed to an empty desk directly to her right. I went over and sat there.

I heard a guy at a nearby desk say, "I'd like to make her feel welcomed with my dk."

I acted like I hadn't heard him, and didn't glance in his direction.

Dawn said, "Joan. This is Anya."

She indicated the girl seated at the desk to her left. Anya had long, light brown hair. She wore a tight blue backless dress, with a very short skirt, along with an un-bandaged hickey in her neck.

I wondered, Are hickeys, bandaged or un-bandaged, part of this School's dress code?

Up at the front desk Ms. Kalderash checked the attendance

She called out, "Does anybody know if Harmony Kendall is absent, or is she just late?"

"Absent from life!" Anya called out smugly from her desk. "Right now her corpse is morphing into a vampire, and she's getting her fangs on! She was making out with a vamp at a party on Saturday night, and they had an accident!"

All the kids in the class chuckled.

Anya continued, "So she won't be attending classes any more, at least in the daytime."

"Oh that's too bad." said the teacher. "Well I hope the rest of you will be careful, when it comes to making out, especially with vampires."

The kids chuckled again.

Now Dawn leaned over and spoke to Anya with a grin. "How far'd you go with that vamp guy you were making out with?"

The other girl leaned toward her, also grinning, and replied. "He nibbled me and I fkd him."

"Same with me and my vamp guy. Just like everyone else at the party. I'm surprised that Harmony was the only one of us who had an accident that was fatal."

"All right everyone!" Ms. Kalderash called out, "Open your textbooks to page…"

During lunch period, I stepped out of the kitchen into the Cafeteria, carrying a tray filled with that day's lunch. I was nervously looking around for an empty seat.

"Hey Joan!" Anya called out, "Over here!"

I went over and sat across the table from Anya and Dawn. I began to eat, while continuing to feel very uneasy.

"Hello again Joan." Anya asked, "So how do you like Sunnydale High so far?"

"Well." I spoke cautiously. "The classes and the curriculum aren't all that different, than they were at my old school. I'm just not sure about anything else."

Dawn asked, "Like what?"

"Well…Sunnydale is supposed to be some kind of Sodom and Gomorrah."

"Actually," Dawn told me, "It's mostly Gomorrah here. Very little Sodom."

I told them, "There really _are_ vampires in Sunnydale, like all those stories you hear, and the town actually _is_ right on top of a hell mouth."

"That's true." Anya nodded with a smile. "You can get away with anything you want, when you're living on a hell mouth."

"That's the problem." I said, "Just how long should I expect to be actually _living_, in Sunnydale? That is instead of 'unliving'."

Anya told me, "That really isn't as much of a problem as you think Joan, as long as you take some simple precautions. All you've got to do is wear a cross or a sprig of garlic, on a chain around your neck, and hang a sprig of garlic or a cross in your window; and never invite a vampire inside your house."

Dawn added, "Or inside of you."

She and Anya both giggled.

I smiled. "Well I'd never do that with any guy I'd just met. I've only done it with my boyfriend, back in Arcadia, and we'd been dating for a good amount of time, before I let him come inside."

Dawn told me, "Nothing wrong with that."

"Another thing." Anya went on. "When you go out in the evening, don't go anywhere alone."

"I see." I said, "Well that all sounds like good advice, but is it really enough? I remember the news stories about the battle that happened when a mob of vampires attacked the last High School Graduation here; and that was in the daytime. More than a dozen students were killed and the entire school was destroyed. That's why they're holding classes here, in this old office building. You can see the ruins of the old High School from the classroom windows. So I can't help but wonder just how safe it really is here in Sunnydale?"

Dawn said, "It's actually a lot safer than it was before the attack on the school."

"You see." Anya explained. "The destruction was so terrible, it just made everyone in town stop and take a look at what we were all doing. A lot of people, both living and undead asked, 'Can't we just get along?' And that's just what we've been doing."

"'Getting along' with vampires?" I asked, "How is that possible?"

"Compromise. We give a little, they take a little."

"A little what?"

"Blood." Dawn explained, "There is an agreement. According to its terms, we let vampires nibble our necks and sip out a few mouthfuls. About as much as you'd put in a coffee mug. They drink just enough to satisfy their thirsts, but not enough to kill us. That's how we got these hickeys."

"Oh. Is that what was going on, on Saturday night, at that party I've been hearing about? Everyone was making out with vampires?"

"That's right. 'Enough to thrill us, but not to kill us'."

"But I heard about the girl who did get killed."

Anya told me, "That was an accident, and Harmony was known for being careless; but you don't have to worry. When you get nibbled, just make sure that as soon as you start to feel light headed, tell your vamp to stop sucking."

"When I 'get nibbled'?" I asked, "You expect me to take part?"

"Well, you are now a resident of Sunnydale, and everyone giving his or her neck, along with about a coffee mug's full of blood, is part of the agreement."

"What if he doesn't stop sucking?"

Anya said, "That means he's being thoroughly inconsiderate."

"But how would I know if a vampire is or isn't considerate, ahead of time?"

Dawn said, "It's okay Joan. Well introduce you to some really cool vamp guys. There's one guy who's just right for a newbee like you. All the girls here call him 'Mr. Goodbite'."

"Oh." All I could think of to say was "Thank you."

I continued eating my lunch, not knowing what else to say, or what to think about the school where I was now enrolled as a student, the vampires, or "Mr. _Goodbite_?"

Then I finally thought of something.

"I've been seeing the way all the girls are dressed around here. It's very different than what we wore back in New Jersey, in the wintertime. I'm obviously going to have to get myself an entire new wardrobe; and it's gonna be very expensive."

"No problem Joanie." Dawn said, "Anya and I,'ll take you over to Main Street after school lets out. There are some shops with a lot of good stuff, that isn't too expensive."

"Thank you." I said, "I really appreciate that."

"Oh and while you're on Main Street," Anya said, "I think it might be a good idea for you to pick up a copy of the 'Vampire's Handbook'."

"There's a Vampire's Handbook?"

"Yes. 'Everything a New Vampire Should Know', along with what a vampire's newbee date should know too. You can find them in a Main Street magic shop, that's called 'The Magic Box' "

"Oh yes." I told my cousin and my new buddy, "I've seen the place. Haven't gone inside. Thank you again. I hope."


	3. Chapter 3

3

At 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I was in downtown Sunnydale, along with my new classmates Dawn and Anya, standing outside a small shop with the name "Magic Box" on a sign above the doorway. We were still carrying our books.

We'd just been to a local clothing store, where I'd bought myself a few halter-tops, which was all I had the money to pay for that day. I'd replaced my unexpectedly nerdy blouse, with what was "Sunnydale chic". I'd put the blouse in the shopping bag, along with the other halter-tops. Then I'd looked in a store's mirror, seeing myself in that very tight, brand new, revealing halter, and my old knee length skirt, and I smiled at what I saw.

"I actually look sexy," I told Anya and Dawn, "without even trying."

We'd come out of the shop and walked along Main Street. Some guys who I recognized from school were actually looking at me; and they were interested in what they saw. One of them was the guy who'd said that he'd like to welcome me with his dk.

I heard him tell the guys he was with, "That's the new girl. I'd like to give her a welcoming fk."

I couldn't help smiling. Hearing him say that this time, made me feel really good!

Then we stopped outside the Magic Box, and the good feeling ended. I stood there feeling very uncomfortable as I looked at the magic shop's window display, which contained books on witchcraft, pictures of goat headed devils, ouija boards, tarot cards, and other items dealing with the occult, including a very large, inverted crucifix.

What am I doing here? I wondered. I'm about to actually step inside a shop that sells these things that are used in black magic rituals?

Back in Arcadia, this would be one of the times when God would come to me in one of His familiar forms. I looked at the passing crowd, wondering if He'd be among them. Some passersby glanced at us three sexily dressed high school girls, but they all continued on their way.

The last time we met, I thought, God said that He was bringing me here, to make me the one who brings Salvation to the undead. That means that I might find all the information I need right inside this shop.

Now Dawn, Anya and I went through the doorway.

Once we were inside the Magic Box I looked around. I had entered a softly lit shop consisting of shelves displaying all kinds of black magic paraphernalia, along with ghoulish looking items, such as replicas of skulls, dismembered eyeballs, and other parts of human and non-human anatomies. There were occultic items, such as what was displayed in the window, along with things that I was unable to identify. There were many books about sorcery, the occult and "Books of Forbidden Knowledge" for anybody to purchase.

A section "For Adults Only" was located in a large alcove at the rear of the shop. From where I stood in the main area, I saw some of my under age classmates in the alcove.

I also saw a poster on an alcove wall, displaying the head shot photo of a woman in hear early thirties, wearing a tiara on her head. She held a cobra in her hands, while glaring angrily into its eyes. Above the photo, were the words, "Glory the Hell Goddess. To be Worshipped by all with Fear and Trembling!"

I suddenly felt myself trembling. Anya and Dawn looked at me, with amusement.

I told my two companions, "I hope you don't think I'm being a wussy, but everything in here is giving me the creeps. Like it's unbelievably evil. I feel like running outside, and getting as far away from this place, as fast as I can."

Anya spoke. "We are living on a hell mouth Joan, so the power of evil is much stronger here, than you'd find in most other places."

I told them, "I just want to buy that Vampires Handbook and get out of here real fast."

Dawn said, "Good idea for a newbee like you Joan."

I told them, "I suddenly feel like throwing up."

Anya chuckled. "Then you'd better wait for us outside. We'll get you the handbook."

I immediately went out the door. As soon as I stepped back out into the fresh air and sunshine, my trembling ceased, along with the nausea. I took a few deep breaths.

What the hell's going on? I wondered. Before we'd stepped inside, I'd been feeling so good. I'd heard that guy say that he wanted to fk me, and I accepted it as a wonderful compliment, and I'd love it if he eventually did. But when we'd stepped inside the shop all those good feelings were erased by an overpowering sense of helplessness before the power of evil.

"Power of Evil"? Yes. I hadn't been threatened in any way, but I'd never had such a strong feeling of total dread before, than when I was inside the magic shop.

I looked at the people walking by, hoping that God in one of his familiar forms, would step out from among them and come over to comfort me. That did not happen.

After what seemed like the longest five minutes of my life, Anya and Dawn stepped back outside, also taking a few refreshing breaths. Anya handed me a small paper bag, with a booklet inside. I reached in the bag, removed the booklet and looked at the cover.

The "Vampire's Handbook", was subtitled "Being a Vampire Doesn't Have to Suck". Under the subtitle was a cartoon smiley face with fangs. Under the smiley face was the blurb "What every new vampire should know."

Unexpectedly, I again had a strong sense of irrational fear, and began trembling once more. The Handbook I was holding began to shake. My two companions chuckled again.

"I don't know what's the matter with me!" I told them, "I'm just being overwhelmed by this supernatural evil."

"It's okay Joan." Dawn tried not to laugh. "We know how to handle it. All you need is to get yourself immunized, with just a little bit of natural evil. Then you'll be able to resist the really big, supernatural kind."

"Immunized with evil?"

"Right, and that won't be any problem here in Sunnydale. Once you get your neck nibbled on and blood sipped out by a vampire, you'll feel a lot more comfortable living here on the hell mouth."

"And if you get your first nibble and sip from 'Mr. Goodbite," Anya added, "You'll be grinning all the way home."

"Wait a minute." My voice shook. "If all I need is to be 'just a little bit evil', I already am. As a matter of fact, back in Arcadia I was a very bad girl."

Dawn smiled, "You were?"

"Yes." I told them, "And I won't have any problem being just as bad here. I used dirty words. I told lies. I cheated at school and I fkd my boyfriend." I lowered my voice. "I even shoplifted an item from a local store once, and didn't get caught. I even cursed at my mother. I think that makes me bad enough."

Dawn and Anya sighed, rolled their eyes and shook their heads.

"Sorry Joan." Anya told me, "Those things might have made you a very bad girl back in New Jersey, but if that's all you're gonna be doing here in Sunnydale, you're not even close. We're still gonna have to introduce you to Mr. Goodbite."

The truth, I thought, is that once God came into my life, I gave up using dirty words, lying, cheating, shoplifting, and cursing at my mother. I stayed a good girl, until I started fking Adam; totally ignoring God's teachings. Now He has me here in Sunnydale, where I'm discussing how to get bit by a vampire, safely?

"Hey Anyanka!" A girl's voice called out sharply from the passing crowd. "Dawn!"

A Sunnydale High girl stood in front of us, with a Sunnydale High guy at her side. She had stylishly set black hair, wore a light blue skirt that hung halfway down her thighs, and nothing above her belt, except a pearl necklace and pearl earrings, along with a mother of pearl bracelet. She did not have either a hickey or a bandage on her neck.

The guy at her side was the one who'd said that he'd like to welcome me with his dk. She looked at us three with a peeved expression on her face.

Anya and Dawn had both stiffened up.

Anya spoke with a tense voice. "Hi Cordelia. Xander."

The dark haired girl looked at me. "You're the new girl. My name's Cordelia Chase."

"Hi Cordelia." I looked uneasily at the guy beside her. "I'm Joan Girardi. I'm also Dawn's cousin."

"This is Xander. He's my boyfriend."

He said, "Hi." Then she put her arm around his waist.

Okay. I thought, No problem. I won't have anything to do with him. Maybe an occasional, shamelessly slutty thought, but nothing more than that

Cordelia ignored me and spoke to Anya and Dawn. "So what were you doing here in Black Magic Central?"

My two companions looked at each other uneasily, but said nothing.

I answered, "We've been shopping around. I've got myself a few halter-tops, to start building a new wardrobe that'll be appropriate for a Sunnydale High girl."

"Good idea." Cordelia said, "I think you'll look good wearing them."

Now Xander spoke. "I think you'd look good not wearing them at all. Just that skirt'd be enough."

I told him, "Thank you. I think."

Cordelia gave him a hard slap.

"Hey!" He said, "What'd you hit me for? If it's good enough for you, it should be good enough for every other girl in town."

I went on. "We came to this shop so I could get myself a copy of the Vampires Handbook. I hear it's recommended reading in this town."

"It definitely is," she said, "if you're gonna be hanging around with this pair of bimbos."

"Hey!" Dawn spoke sharply, "What do you want Cordelia?"

"Remember. Your sister Buffy's warned us all to stay away from this shop; so has the Watcher's Council. They've all said that there's an evil force inside this place that has to be avoided. If not, that force might open the hell mouth, and things will be who knows how many times worse, than they were before Buffy and the rest of us on her Team, negotiated that Nibble and Sip Truce with the vampires."

I asked, "My cousin Buffy took part in negotiating the Truce?"

Dawn said, "My sister Buffy is also the Vampire Slayer, or at least she was."

"You mean the 'Vampire Slayer' actually exists? And she's my cousin?"

"That's true." Anya said, "Or she used to exist as the Slayer. Once the Truce was signed, she was overjoyed to be able to finally put down her stake and retire from that career. Now she can go on to have a normal life, or unlife, like the rest of us here in Sunnydale."

Cordelia told me, "But if the evil force escapes from here, the Truce ends, and we all get sucked down into Hell."

I thought of the overpowering sense of evil I'd felt inside the shop. I decided not to wait to see if God would show up in one of His human forms. I tried to think of any Bible verse that dealt with this situation, and I remember something.

I turned to face the occultic display in the window of the magic shop and said, "The Lord rebuke you."

Cordelia shouted. "Don't say any more!"

I turned and saw her standing there with her hand raised, looking very distressed.

"What ever you do," she warned, "don't do or say anything that might provoke the demonic force!"

About a half-hour later, Dawn and I returned to the Summers' house, both carrying our books. I also carried the plastic bag containing my new halter-tops and the Vampires Handbook.

We stepped through the door and went into the kitchen where my mother was, with me wearing my brand new skimpy halter, and my old, knee length skirt.

My mother took one look at me and called out. "Oh my God!"

There was distress in her voice. "Why are you dressed like that? And where's the blouse you were wearing when you left this morning?"

"It's okay. I brought it back here with me." I lifted up the shopping bag. "This is the way that most of the girls at Sunnydale High dress. It's sort of their unofficial dress code."

"Yes. I've noticed." She said, "I actually saw some young women, including girls your age, walking around town bare breasted, in public."

"I didn't see anyone dressed that way, at least inside the school. But outside of school it's different."

Dawn explained, "There's no law against dressing, or not dressing, any way you want here in Sunnydale."

Mom sighed. "There doesn't seem to be any law against anything here in Sunnydale."

I said, "And I've been told that I'd look good dressed in only this skirt."

"Well I hope you're not planning to do so."

"Don't worry Mom. There's no law here that says I have to dress that way either, so I won't."

"That's good to know."

"At least not right away."


	4. Chapter 4

4

In the evening after my first day at Sunnydale High, while we Girardi's stayed at my Aunt Joyce's house, I was doing my homework in Dawn's room, stretched out along the bed, while Dawn sat at the desk, both of us working with our laptop computers.

The door opened and her 20-year-old sister Buffy entered, also casually dressed in the same type of shorts and skimpy top that we were wearing. Buffy was a student at Sunnydale U. where she shared a dorm room with another friend of hers named Willow. On Saturday night she'd come across town from the campus to greet us, and did the same on Sunday night.

Dawn greeted her. "Hi Buff."

Her sister smiled and I gasped at what I saw. Then I sat up straight on the edge of the bed.

Buffy asked, "Is there a problem Joan?"

I'd begun trembling again. "You've got fangs." I told her. "You're a vampire."

"Don't worry." Dawn again spoke with amusement. "She doesn't bite."

"Oh yes I do," Buffy, who also looked amused, assured me, "but only at fang-bangs, and then I only bite guys."

I tried to calm down. "But you didn't have fangs when you came over on Saturday, or last night."

"Yes I did, but I kept them retracted. Now I'm alone with my sister and my cousin, so I figure I can relax and just be myself."

She sat down on the bed beside me, with her pair of long sharp fangs protruding downward between her open, smiling lips.

"Ohhhh!" I sighed, put my hand on my forehead and shook my head. "Things here are just too much for me to deal with!"

"It'll be okay Joan." Buffy assured, "All you need is some studly vamp guy to stick his fangs in you, and you'll feel a lot better about everything."

"Right." Dawn added, "I always feel a lot better about everything, when I've got a studly guy sticking a part of himself inside of me."

"So do I," I told them, "but that's when that part is his dk."

They both laughed. So did I, nervously.

I prayed silently, Lord where are you? I need your help now.

Then my trembling stopped.

Now I spoke to Buffy, "I was told that you're the Vampire Slayer."

"True." She said, "That was my title, before the Truce was instituted. Now I'm the Slayer-Vampire. I help enforce the Truce. Me and my team see to it that no vampires harass or do anything to harm any living people, except in the way that's stated in the Truce: Only during legally defined fang-bangs, when there's mutual consent. We also see to it, that none of the living harass or do anything to harm the undead."

Dawn said, "Everyone in Sunnydale knows that you don't mess with Buffy. Anyone who does loses, totally and for all time."

"Not always." I pointed out, "Somebody who did mess with your sister won, totally and for all time."

Buffy chuckled. "No. I wasn't defeated. I got these fangs on by mutual consent. You see, one of the conditions to the signing of the Truce Agreement, was that the Slayer had to allow herself to get killed by a vampire. I agreed, on the condition that I'd be vamped, so I could come back, to be the one in charge of its enforcement.

"Everyone involved agreed to my terms; so at midnight, on the night the Truce was signed, I stood out in front of the Town Hall. Then Spike the Vampire came over to me, and I allowed him to chomp his fangs into my neck, all the way. Then he sucked me out 'til I died."

"I see." I asked her, "You're not only the Slayer-Vampire, you're also the Marshall of the Living and the Undead in Sunnydale?"

"That's right, and I now have the legal authority to stake any vamps, or bite to death any live person, who violates the terms of the Truce."

Then she smiled. "Now since everybody in Sunnydale High knows that you're my cousin, nobody's gonna be messing with Joan Girardi."

Dawn added, "Except when you get nibbled and sipped at a fang-bang where Buffy'll be monitoring things."

Buffy said, "I'm there just to make sure that accidents don't happen. Other than that, I won't spoil anybody's fun."

I repeated, "Fang-bang?"

Dawn told me, "Anya and I are gonna be taking part in the next one on Saturday night. Just a little get together, with a few of our friends at her house. And by the way, we won't just be getting nibbled and sipped. We'll also get drunk, get naked, get laid, and most important of all, get away with all of it. Do you want to come along?"

That night, after Buffy had returned to Sunnydale U, I'd gone to bed in her old room, totally unable to sleep. I couldn't get all the very disturbing things I'd heard and seen that day out of my mind. Very disturbing things, that were routine activities in this community where I was now living. I was actually expected to allow a 'Mr. Goodbite' to stab his fangs into my neck, and suck out "about a coffee-mug-full of blood", at a "little" fang-bang on Saturday night?

I kept thinking of Dawn's question. "Do you want to come along?"

If I don't, I wondered, will I be in some kind of trouble?

Since I arrived here in Sunnydale, I thought, I've been expecting God to come to me in some human form. So far He hasn't. Maybe He wants me to pray first.

So I prayed silently. "Lord. You see everything that's going on here, and I just don't know how to handle any of it. I need your advice. I also need your help to avoid the temptations, and I am very strongly tempted.

"If I could avoid the vampire biting, I'd like to go along with Dawn to that fang-bang. I'd like to get drunk, naked and laid, especially when I can get away with it all. But I know I won't be getting away with anything. There are always consequences. 'If I do bad things, bad things will happen to me.'

"The bad thing that will probably happen, is that I'll get nibbled by a vampire who'll have an accident; and I'll die and come back as a vampire myself; so I should obviously avoid going to that fang-bang, or any fang-bang. But if I don't go, who knows what kind of trouble I might be in?

"Lord have mercy on me, a shameless, unrepentant sinner. Amen."

I spent the next few days getting accustomed to my new School and Community. Like I said, the curriculum and classes weren't all that different from how they'd been back in Arcadia. Neither were the kids. However, I did have to make major changes to my wardrobe. I started attending classes dressed in very short skirts or tight shorts, and very skimpy halter-tops. I wasn't ready to start walking around with my boobs naked in public, like a lot of my classmates did after school. I could wait.

I continued hanging out with Dawn and Anya, and a few other girls. I was the only one in the group without a hickey. They all accepted that as a temporary condition, which they expected me to have corrected by Mr. Goodbite, during Saturday's fang-bang at Anya's.

I told Dawn, "I'm not sure if I'll ever be ready to go through with getting nibbled and sipped by a vampire, no matter how sexy he bites."

"Listen Joan." She said, "We Sunnydale girls are not wussy pussies. If you don't get it done this weekend, that's what people'll start calling you."

"I'm not a wussy Dawn!"

"When the Slayer-Vampire's own cousin, chooses to ignore the terms of the Truce, that's what everyone in town'll think. Buffy allowed herself to be killed, to put the Truce into effect, so it's not asking too much for you to join the rest of us, and follow its terms, is it?"

After she told me that, I prayed to the Lord, "If you don't do something to stop me, I'm going to be attending that fang-bang."

That week, while I was attending classes in my new High School, my mother had been looking for a place to rent. She found an apartment just a few blocks from Main Street. On Saturday Aunt Joyce and Dawn helped us move in. Then we went out to have an early dinner at a nearby diner.

We returned to the apartment, just as it was getting dark. Since Cousin Buffy was a vampire, she was fatally allergic to sunlight; so she hadn't been able to help with the move in the daytime. She showed up at the apartment about a half hour after sunset.

About 7:30 that Saturday night, Dawn, Buffy and I came out of my new room, in our new apartment. My Mother and Aunt Joyce were seated on the living room sofa, watching Book TV on C-Span. When we stepped into the room, appropriately dressed for the fang-bang, my mother actually gasped. She threw up her arms, shook her head and groaned in aggravation, while Aunt Joyce smiled sweetly.

We three were dressed in skirts of varying lengths. I wore the one I'd had on during my first day at my new school, along with matching heels and nothing above the waist, except for a necklace and earrings. My cousins were similarly dressed.

Aunt Joyce smiled. "Why you girls look lovely tonight, don't they Helen?"

"Joyce!" My mother shouted. "They're bare breasted!"

"Right." Dawn grinned, put her hands on her hips, and thrust her boobs forward. "I've got a pair of artillery shells, and I'm ready to go bang-bang."

She, Buffy, Aunt Joyce and I all laughed, while my mother tried to suppress a smile of her own.

My Aunt explained, "Their ensembles are considered stylishly chic here in Sunnydale. Now look at them. Our daughters are truly beautiful women, aren't they?"

"Well." My mom hesitated. Then she nodded. "Right. They are. Stunningly beautiful! As long as bare breasts are acceptable…I suppose…"

She thought it over. Then she told me, "Joan. I'm not sure what to say. I hope you'll all have a good time. Just be careful with the vampire boys you'll be meeting tonight."

We three girls with the bare boobs couldn't help chuckle.

Dawn asked, "Careful? Aunt Helen, they're gonna be sticking their fangs in us tonight, along with the part you expect, so they can't help getting rough. That's the entire purpose of the evening. The reason our boobs are naked, is so that when the vampire guys do get rough, our garments won't get ripped to shreds."

"When I said 'careful,' Mom told us, "I was talking about safe sex. I don't know what else to tell you! Just don't any of you die, and then come back with vampire fangs of your own!"


	5. Chapter 5

5

Am I going to die tonight? I wondered, as Buffy drove me and Dawn through the dark early evening, away from our new apartment, headed toward Anya's home. Tonight, some vampire guy would be "doing whatever he wants" to my bare breasted body. He might lose self control, ignore the terms of the Truce and "accidentally" kill me. Buffy said she'd be keeping an eye out for me, but something might happen anyway.

Until tonight, the only guy who I'd ever let do anything he wanted to my naked body was Adam; and what he did was fk me in a 'gentlemanly way', that left me very satisfied, with no hickeys or bruises. Would a hungry vampire be that considerate?

I'd now been here in Vampire Town for a week, and the only vampire I'd met so far was my cousin Buffy, the "Slayer-Vampire", who seemed to have everything, including her own bloodlust, under control. But Buffy was an extraordinary woman. I was sure that the vamp who'd be biting my neck, wouldn't have any more self control than any sadistic guy when he's getting rough with a woman.

I've prayed to the Lord, I thought. I've asked Him to do something to stop me from taking part in this, but He hasn't. That's no surprise. I've wanted the approval of my cousins and my classmates, more than the approval of God, so what should I expect? If I get killed and revive with a pair of fangs in my mouth, it's my fault.

We reached Anya's house in a little more than 10 minutes. She greeted us at the front door, and escorted us downstairs to a finished basement, where two bare chested girls who attended Sunnydale High, were seated on a plush sofa, each making out with two bare chested guys, who were also classmates. One of the girls was Cordelia who was seated on the sofa, in Xander's lap. They were kissing hot and wet, so was the other girl and her guy.

Four bare chested, Sunnydale High guys were standing in the room, holding cocktail glasses containing some kind of drink. Other half emptied cocktail glasses stood on a coffee table in front of the sofa. A strong smell of alcohol filled the room.

Anya called out, "Everybody's here now! It's time to start.

When the four guys saw Anya, Buffy, Dawn and me enter the room bare breasted, they all grinned and put down their drinks. Cordelia and Xander got up off the sofa, so did the other couple who were making out.

Anya walked up to one of the four guys without girls. They put their arms around one another, held each other tight, and kissed heavily. Buffy walked up to another guy, and did the same, as did Dawn with a different guy. Cordelia went into the arms of the guy who'd been making out with the other girl on the sofa.

At the same time, Xander, who'd said more than once that he'd like to fk me, grinned at me and walked toward me. I walked up to him. He took me in his arms. I put mine around him, and we began kissing heavily.

If he wants to fk me, I thought, I'll let him.

That's what he wanted, and that's what I did. That's what every one of us did in Anya's finished basement that night.

We'd been going at it for about an hour and a half. By then every one of us was naked, drunk and laid.

That was when Buffy called out, "Okay everyone! Time to begin the fang-bang!"

We all stood up, and separated from our partners. Buffy had extended her fangs. She walked over to Xander. They went into each other's arms. Buffy put her mouth against his neck, and bit her fangs in, causing his blood to flow. She put her mouth against the wounds, began to suck his blood out, and gulp it down.

At that same moment, everyone began to count. "One-thousand-one! One-thousand-two! One-thousand-three! One-thousand-four…", and on until they reached, "One-thousand-ten!"

Buffy quickly pulled back from him, with a satisfied smile on her lips. Xander looked woozy, trying to keep his balance. He quickly sat down on the sofa, with a hand against the wound in his neck. There was a large pack of bandages and a large bottle of ointment on the coffee table. Buffy quickly applied both to his neck.

Then she gave him a quick kiss on the lips and said, "Thank you stud."

Then the guy who Buffy had been making out with, displayed his own vampire fangs. He went over to Cordelia, who took him in her arms, and accepted his bite and gulps while everyone counted up to "One-thousand-ten!" Then he helped apply the medication and bandage to her neck.

Now Dawn told me, "He's 'Mr. Goodbite'. He's the only vamp guy here. He's gonna bite all of us live girls. Buffy's gonna bite all the live guys. By the time it's over, they'll both be fully nourished and we'll all still be alive."

Dawn walked up to him, and let him have her neck; while Buffy walked up to another guy and gave him a bite.

That's what happened with all of us girls and guys at the fang-bang. Mr. Goodbite took me in his arms, and stabbed his fangs into my neck. The bite wasn't too deep, but it hurt real good. Then I felt his cold mouth against my neck, and his cold tongue licking up my blood, while people standing beside us counted.

"One-thousand-one! One-thousand-two! One-thousand-three! One-thous…"

I was beginning to weaken.

I prayed silently, Forgive me Lord. Please keep me from dying. Keep me from dying. Keep me from…

I was aware of nothing.

I opened my eyes, and found myself seated on the sofa, while Buffy, Dawn and Mr. Goodbite hovered around me. I felt Buffy patting a bandage over the wounds in my neck.

I looked at Mr. Goodbite. "Did you kill me?" I asked nervously. "Am I dead? Am I a vampire? Am I getting my fangs on now?"

"None of those things cousin Joanie." Buffy grinned, "You just fainted. Happens to a lot of girls their first time. You are now an officially initiated Hellmouth Gal."

Around midnight, Buffy drove Dawn and me home. She dropped me off at the apartment. Then my slayer-vampire cousin drove Dawn back to the Summers' house, and herself back to her Sunnydale U dorm.

I went inside the apartment house, and entered our apartment. I'd put my skirt back on, and made sure my hair was combed neatly again, and my make-up re-applied, but I couldn't remove the very big grin from my face. My mother was waiting up for me, still sitting on the living room couch.

She asked me uneasily, "So how did things go at the party? Did you have a good time?"

I couldn't help chuckling.

"I'm going to enjoy being a Sunnydale High student Mom," I couldn't help laughing, "a lot more than I did at Arcadia!"


	6. Chapter 6

6

When I woke up the next morning, I was still grinning. I'd just had one terrific night, of uncommitted, recreational fking! Xander had shoved his big, long, hard, hot dk into my cnt, and kept it there for a good amount of time! Then I'd had one hunk of a vampire guy stick his fangs in me, and then nibble and suck me out, good and rough; or "ruff-ruff-ruff!" They were both better fkrs than Adam had been.

No. I thought, I shouldn't think that way about Adam. When I write to him, I'm obviously not gonna be telling him that. He and I did have a committed, long lasting, true love relationship that would have continued if I hadn't moved away. The night before we left, he and I gave each other a good-bye fk, expressing our true love.

What I'd done at the fang-bang had nothing to do with love. I was having a lot of fun, being a Hellmouth Gal, doing my part in helping keep the Truce, and it was the best time I'd ever had in my life! I was looking forward to the next one!

I got up. It was Sunday morning. Mom and I would be going to Church. While skimpy, sexy garments and even naked boobs were acceptable all over Sunnydale, I was sure that wouldn't be so in any local house of worship. I would attend fully clothed, from neck to knees.

When I sat down at the breakfast table, with a satisfied smile still on my lips, Mom told me, "I'd like you to try to stay away from your cousins Buffy and Dawn. They've been having a definitely bad influence on you."

"Bad influence? Mom. You've told me that when you were in High School, you fkd a few boys yourself, and that was long before you met Dad."

"But I never walked around in public with my breasts naked, and I never got nibbled by a vampire."

"Those things are part of living in Sunnydale Mom."

She sighed. "I understand that, but I don't want you to use 'living on the hellmouth' as an excuse for doing things that you know just aren't right. I still don't want you spending too much time with your cousins."

I wasn't gonna argue. I'd still spend time with them. I just wouldn't tell my mother about it.

So we attended worship at a local Church that morning. I wondered if I'd meet God there, in one of His human forms, where He'd reprimand me for what I'd done at the fang-bang. I didn't see Him. I recognized some of my classmates, who were also fully clothed. One of them was Cordelia. I waved at her. She scowled and looked away from me.

Well, I thought, I did fk her boyfriend. But she was fking another girl's boyfriend, at the same time. I supposed that means that nobody'll be getting away with being totally slutty. At least not get away totally.

The worship service began. I joined in the hymns, the prayers, the collection of tithes and offerings, and the Bible reading. That was the time when I always knew that God was speaking to me. I sat there, waiting for the reprimand.

However, while the Pastor was reading from the Bible and preaching the sermon, my mind was too full of what had happened the night before, for me to pay attention to anything he said.

That afternoon we were back in the apartment. I was in my room when Mom got a phone call.

I was seated at my desk, where I'd turned on my laptop computer, and logged on to the Sunnydale High Students' websites. While I'd thought that Arcadia High's "No Longer a Virgin." website was embarrassing, what I found on Sunnydale's "Fang-Bang's" site was far beyond that.

The one I'd attended on Saturday night was being shown on video, for the whole world to see. There had actually been a hidden camera in Anya's basement, taping all of us naked, drunk and fking, and then getting bit by vampires. The vamps were invisible on the tape, so all it showed was what looked like us living guests, doing sexual stuff with nobody, and getting nibbled and sipped by nobody. I'm not even going to try to describe it. It was all just too weird.

Then I noticed something I'd hardly paid attention to during the fang-bang. On the wall a poster of the Hell Goddess Glory was displayed. It was the same poster I'd seen at the Magic Box, showing her glaring at a serpent. That was the one that had overwhelmed me with nauseating fear. This time, I didn't feel like throwing up.

There was also a moment when Anya came up close to the shelf where the tiny camera had been hidden in plain sight. I clearly saw that she had on a necklace, with a serpent image dangling between her naked boobs.

Okay! I thought, Part of being on the Hellmouth, but…when I see Anya tomorrow morning…"

My mother knocked on my door. "Joan." She sounded distressed. "Will you come out here a minute?"

I quickly turned off my computer, came out of my room and went into the kitchen, where she was seated at the table, actually trembling.

"Mom? What's the matter?"

"I just got a phone call from your Aunt Joyce. She said Dawn didn't get up this morning."

I laughed, 'I'm not surprised."

"Joan! Don't joke! This is serious!"

I repeated, "'Part of being a Sunnydale girl' Mom."

"That's the problem. When she hadn't got up by noontime, your Aunt Joyce went into Dawn's room to wake her up, and she found her dead! Killed by a vampire!"

That ended the joking.

"What! Dead?" I said, "No. That's not possible! She let a vampire guy give her a nibble and take a few sips. She was a little woozy for a few minutes, but by the time we left, she was okay. Same as me."

Mom said, "But your cousin Dawn is now dead and becoming a vampire. Your Aunt Joyce pushed her lips up, and found a pair of fangs growing inside her mouth."

I said, "Well that can't be because of what happened at the fang-bang. Everyone there was very careful, keeping an eye on each other, so there wouldn't be any accidents; either sexual or vampirical."

"Then why did this happen?"

"I have no idea. I'm new here."

Mom and I sat there quietly, thinking things over for a while. I thought over what I'd been reading in the Vampires Handbook.

Then I said, "It might be that after Buffy dropped me off, she and Dawn went to another one, where things got out of hand. I'll talk to Anya tomorrow, and see if she knows what happened."

The following morning, I entered 2nd Period History Class, dressed like many of the other girls, in a short skirt and tight halter-top, with a souvenir bandage on my neck. Dawn was not seated at her desk. Anya was there, but Xander's desk was also unoccupied.

I came over to Anya and said, "Did you hear about Dawn? She's a vampire."

She nodded, looking very distressed. "So is Xander."

"Not him too? What happened? We were all careful."

She shook her head. "I haven't the slightest idea."

During the remainder of the day, everybody was talking about it, trying to figure out why two people, who'd been safely nibbled but hadn't been killed, had later died and were now undead.

At lunchtime, I overheard Cordelia say, "Maybe we should ask the new girl. We don't know anything about her, and she was fucking Xander."

It seemed like everyone in the cafeteria was looking at me.

"Hey!" I said, "I have no idea what's going on either! It's like you just said! I'm new here! I hardly know anything about anything that goes on here!"

I spent the rest of the day feeling like everyone was staring at me. In Study Hall, I carefully read through the entire 48 pages of the Vampires Handbook.

When classes ended, I felt much more relieved than usual, to be going to my locker. I stood there, getting the books I'd need for studying that night, and putting away the ones I wouldn't. That was when the same guy who I'd known back in Arcadia, as God in the form of the hottest hunk of a guy I'd ever met, came over to me.

He said, "Good afternoon Joan."

This time I didn't feel like flirting. "So now you finally show up." I said in a peeved tone.

He told me, "You wanted to attend the fang-bang, and be a totally shameless slut."

"Hey!" I snapped. Then I hesitated. "Yeah." I nodded. "You're right about that."

He went on. "You know that I don't want you doing any of those things, but you did them anyway; so I allowed you to do what you wanted. Now you'll have to deal with the consequences."

"'Consequences'." I sighed. "Everyone at the fang-bang all engaged in safe sex and safe nibble and sip, nothing worse than a lot of scratched necks; but now Dawn and Xander are vampires. I was worried that I might die too, but I didn't."

"You prayed to me while you were being nibbled and sipped. You asked me to keep you from dying, so I did."

"Thank you Lord; but why did Xander and Dawn die?"

"They were overcome by the power of the Hellmouth."

I asked Him, "What's going on?"

"That fang-bang party was not only being held to keep the Truce, it was also a ceremony of human sacrifice, to a pagan deity."

"A pagan human sacrifice?"

"Do you remember what the party's hostess Anya was wearing?"

"Nothing above the waist, and very little below it, when we arrived. Then nothing below it for most of the time we were there, just like the rest of us."

"But she continued wearing a necklace, with a serpent symbol dangling on it between her breasts."

"Right. I saw that on the fang-bang website. But that wasn't where my attention was focused, while the fang-bang was going on."

"Anya was acting as priestess of the Hell Goddess Glory. Glory used the power of the Hellmouth, to increase the deadliness of the vampire bitings, so that a male and a female would die in sacrifice to her. If you hadn't prayed to me, the female sacrifice would have been you."

"Me? Instead of Dawn?"

"Yes. If you hadn't prayed to me, in the midst of your sin, you would be a vampire today."

"Okay." I told Him, "I've learned my lesson. I won't attend any more fang-bangs. I'll stop being a total slut, and I won't get fucked again until my wedding night. I swear by…by You."

"Thank you Joan. I truly appreciate that. There will be general rejoicing in Heaven, if this is a true repentance."

"Thank you Lord, but I'm going to need help with the repenting."

"That's what I'm here for."

"That's good to know."

He told me, "But this isn't over. I have more for you to do."

"I was afraid you were gonna say that."

"Do you remember the reason I told you, why I was bringing you here to Sunnydale?"

"You said it was so I could 'bring Salvation to the Undead'."

"That's right." He told me, "I want you to begin with your cousin Buffy Summers."

That really caught me off guard. "Me? Bring Salvation to Buffy?"

"Along with Xander and Dawn, and all those who are undead in Sunnydale."


	7. Chapter 7

7

When I got back to the apartment that afternoon, I was still overwhelmed by everything that had happened at school.

My mother told me, "I got a call from your Aunt Joyce a few hours ago. Your Cousin Dawn is now undead, and she wants to talk to you."

"Dawn wants to talk?"

Mom nodded. "Over the phone." She sighed, "Vampires can't bite you over the phone."

I went into my room, took out my cell phone, switched it on and dialed my cousin's number. I put the device to my ear and listened to it ring a few times. Then I heard her voice.

"Hello." Dawn spoke. Her voice sounded no different than it had before. "Who is this?"

"Hi Dawn." I told her, "This is Joan, your cousin."

"Hi Joanie."

I said, "So how are you doing?"

"How am I doing?"

"Well, I'm not sure what to say. What do I ask?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well…how about…What's it like being undead?"

"What's it like? Well, not really all that different than when I was alive, except that I can't go outside in daylight, and that right now I'm really hungry."

I asked, "But you're not hungry for anything that comes with fries, are you?"

"That's right." She told me, "My appetite has changed. I'd prefer the warm, pumping blood of a dying human now."

"Is that including mine?"

Her voice now had a sad tone. "I'd still like us to be friends Joanie."

"Friends? So would I Dawn, but just how safe would I be?"

"Safe as before." She told me, "I'm just gonna nibble and sip whoever I bite, and only when there's someone around to count up to 'one thousand-ten'. I'm not gonna violate the Truce. And don't worry. My vampire appetite is heterosexual. I only want to bite studly guys to death."

"That's good to know. I think."

"Of course it would be nice if Mr. Goodbite had made you into my vampire buddy, so we could go hunting studs together."

"Thank you Dawn, but I'd prefer to spend the rest of my life here in Sunnydale alive."

"Sure Joan. I understand that, but things might not be that easy. Now that you're a hellmouth gal, you're expected to take part in helping keep the Truce."

"Forget that!" I told her, "On Saturday night I was a hellmouth gal, but just that once. I've decided not attend any more fang-bangs."

"Oh don't whimp out Joanie! No matter how horny or hungry the vampire guys are, they're not gonna violate the Truce."

"Does that really matter?" I said, "Buffy didn't violate the truce when she nibbled and sipped out Xander, and Mr. Goodbite didn't violate it either, when he did the same to you, but you and Xander are now vampires anyway."

"Xander too?" She sounded distressed.

"Oh." I asked her, "You didn't know? This is the first time you've heard about it?"

"Yeah." Now she sounded even more distressed. "I just un-deaded a few hours ago. All I know is what my Mom told me. And Buffy's gonna come over and talk to me, after it gets dark. Tell me Joan. Did it happen to anyone else; Anya, or Cordelia, or any of the other guys or girls at the fang-bang?"

"No. They're all okay and alive. It's just you and Xander who are undead."

Later that evening, I came out of my room, wearing ankle length slacks and a halter-top, along with a necklace that had a small cross dangling between the tops of my breasts.

I told my mother, "I'm going to be meeting Anya at the Bronze."

She gasped.

"It's okay Mom. This isn't a fang-bang night. That's reserved for weekends. Nobody gets nibbled on Monday nights."

"But are you sure you'll be safe anyway? Are you sure that vampires won't attack you, no matter what night it is?"

I touched the necklace and pointed to the cross. "This should be enough protection, as long as I keep it in plain sight."

"Are you sure of that?" She asked, "Now that you've been engaging in carnal sin?"

I let go of the cross and lowered my hand.

"I've repented." I told her. "I won't be fucking again until my wedding night."

She made a joke choking sound. "Yeah-right."

"Well," I told her, "at least I won't tonight. We'll be in a well-lighted public place, and tonight it'll be just us heterosexual gals."

Around 8 o'clock that evening, I arrived at the Bronze, a typical teen hangout, with a counter, tables and chairs, and booths alongside the walls. Recorded music was playing. This was a Monday night. The place was only about half filled with kids, mostly from Sunnydale High.

I looked around, searching through the familiar faces. Some of the kids were making out. I saw Cordelia in a booth, making out with Xander. They were actually tongue kissing. She was licking his new fangs with her tongue, but she wasn't holding back?

I'd also hoped to see God here in one of His familiar forms. I didn't see Him.

Then a girl seated at one of the tables raised her arm and waved at me. She was Anya. I went over to her. I stood beside the table and pointed.

"Do you see that? Cordelia's making out with Xander?"

Anya nodded. "Fang-bang's over. The random fking around only happens then. If you want to fk him again, or any other girl's boyfriend, that's the only chance any of us have."

"Forget it." I shook my head. "Not any more, now that he's a vampire. I'm sure that Cordelia's tasting his fangs. What is she suicidal?"

"No. Neither of them are gonna violate the Truce. He'll just be giving her nibble and sip later. She'll count up to 'One-thousand-ten' and he'll stop."

"But if he's a brand new vampire, who knows how hungry he'll be? He might be too hungry to keep the Truce, and just give her a hicky. That was all that Buffy gave him, and now he's a vampire."

Anya raised her hand and made a patting down gesture. "Relax. That won't happen here tonight. The Power of Evil is appeased."

"'The Power of Evil'? Appeased?"

I now sat down in the seat across the table from her. Anya was again wearingthelong chain necklace, with a serpent image on an amulet, dangling between her now halter-covered boobs.

I told her, "During the fang-bang, you had a large poster of the Hell Goddess Glory taped to the wall of your basement," I pointed, "and you were wearing that amulet, which is worn by her worshipers."

She stiffened up slightly. Then she said, "Oh? Is it?"

I nodded, "That might lead some people to think that while we took part in the fang-bang, we were also unknowingly engaging in idol worship."

"I wasn't." she told me. "Were you?"

"I said 'unknowingly'. I worship the Lord my God, and only Him. Tell me Anya, was the blood that was shed during the fang-bang, used as a sacrifice to satisfy the Hell Goddess Glory?"

"No." She snorted derisively. "At least as far as I know, it was used to satisfy the vampires." She laughed, "And you were very satisfied yourself."

"Yeah. We all were, but now the fang-bang is over, and my cousin and a guy who fkd me then are now both undead. Is that what it took to 'appease' the power of evil'?"

Anya said nothing. She just sat there, looking around nervously.

I asked, "Tell me Anya. Did Dawn and Xander die as sacrifices to the Hell Goddess Glory?"

She put her finger to her lips.

I said, "Then I'm right about that, aren't I?"

She warned firmly, "Keep your mouth shut, Miss Girardi."

Then she called out. "Hey Cordelia! Xander! We have to explain some things to the new girl!"

I looked over at the booth where Cordelia and Xander had been making out. The two got up and came over to our table, where they stood beside us.

Anya told them, "Miss Girardi here's wondering if Xander and Dawn died as sacrifices to the Hell Goddess Glory."

Now Cordelia leaned forward and spoke to me with a lowered voice. "You should have kept your mouth shut outside the Magic Box."

"Outside?"

"You spoke words that challenged the Power inside the shop. That provoked the Power, and the two of them died to appease the demonic force."

Now Xander spoke. "What I don't understand is why Dawn and I died and became undead, instead of her, when she was the one who provoked them."

"While Mr. Goodbite was nibbling and sucking me," I explained "I prayed to the Lord my God, and He had mercy and kept me alive. Then He allowed both you and Dawn died as my substitutes."


End file.
